Ex-NFL player and current football analyst, Devin McCourty, implied that Bill Belichick’s interest in joining the Atlanta Falcons this winter might be driven by his pursuit of breaking Don Shula’s NFL record for career victories earned by a head coach. Belichick is just 15 wins away from surpassing Shula’s combined regular season and postseason total of 347 wins.
“If I’m being honest, I didn’t really want to see him go to Atlanta,” McCourty said about Belichick during the latest edition of the “Eye on Foxborough” podcast, as shared by Karen Guregian of MassLive. “I think Atlanta was a chance to break (Shula’s) record, no doubt about it, but I just didn’t think Atlanta would be a year or two away from really competing in the Super Bowl…whereas, who knows if there’s a team that comes up in the next year, you bring Bill Belichick in there, and this team automatically becomes a contender.”
The Falcons opted to hire Raheem Morris instead of Bill Belichick. Despite Tom Brady acknowledging Belichick as “the greatest coach ever,” there’s a prevailing perception across the league that teams may be cautious about the 71-year-old’s coaching prowess, especially in comparison to his prime. The fact that the Falcons are the sole team to have engaged with Belichick this winter supports this notion.
Nevertheless, there are speculations suggesting that the Kansas City Chiefs might express interest in Belichick if Andy Reid secures a Super Bowl LVIII victory and subsequently decides to retire.
“It’s about strictly winning Super Bowls, and that’s what I loved about being in New England,” McCourty added about Belichick’s mindset. “…That’s what he was always coaching towards, how could we be our best in January through February. That’s what I want to see him continue to be able to do, not just win enough games from September to the beginning of January to call it a season and say, ‘Well now I’m only five games away or eight games away from this record.'”
Belichick might consider taking a reset by spending the next season as an in-studio analyst for one of the league’s national media partners. This break could give him the opportunity to assess potential coaching opportunities with teams like the New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys, or Philadelphia Eagles in the following year. The speculation about Belichick replacing Reid could intensify in the lead-up to the evening of Feb. 11.